THE NE.W YORKER P AR.IS LeTTeR. PARIS, MARCH 27 J\ T this moment Il. the faits d'hiver are finished and the faits divers are few. Among, however, the inter - seasonal events of any im- portance have been the various exhibi- tions of lead soldiers. For the first time in the history of the n ursery, three such shows were on view. Occasional auctions of these toys at the Hôtel Drouot have demonstrated the in- creasing preciousness of the hobby, but the throwing open of the exhibitions at public art galleries has established the warriors among connoisseurs. The first of the shows was held at the lead-soldier headquarters, Au Plat d'Etain, in the Rue des Saints-Pères, featuring the Zayas collection of "Foreign Troops under the First Em- pire" and the Bonazzi collection of "Troops at Rest on a Farm of 1807," all the pieces being hors série, most of them being in the round, but certain examples conforming to the experts' demand for fiat or profile figures. In- quiry reveals that the round soldiers rank less high, are usually made in France from hand-carved plaster fig- urines (from which copper molds are made), and that the fiat fighters come from NÜrnberg, vvhere they are formed in slate molds. Further- more, half the fun for the eight hun- dred lead-soldier fans of Europe-vvho coun t among their ranks certain of the most eminent diplomats, generals, and brains of the land-lies in cutting off the soldiers' legs, heads, or whatever and soldering them on in new positions, and with new and expertly documented uniforms, each fighter then being the only one of his kind-which nobody can deny. O F the worthiest Parisian col- lectors, all men of letters, one of the most important is Pierre de Lanux, who specializes in sixteenth- century regiments, uniforms, and arm- ament, and has more than fifteen thousand men at his command. Paul Armont, the dramatic author, special- izes in Assyrian troops, and is de- signing an Egyptian series for next year. Third among the leaders is Léopold Marchand, also playwright, who favors all armies since Francis I. The last, but least only in the number 85 = F. 1i- 4*;;r:1 ;f : .::::.' ..,..,..".,.,,,;,,,A,.. I 1::/'Y1:1(1'. Ii :!:':'. i...x ';:' . . , :- . 'f . -;" , . t : : . : , ' , : . :, . ': ; ' . . ' , '. , ', , ! ... , :.< wi fl . " ,., }$..w ) , " ,..':' ;i:!':;:: Æ i . Keen minds who know their numbers, figure that if a dollar went as far in a night club as it does in buying hose of Bemberg, it would buy whoopee for five for a week. Hosiery as smart as any you have ever seen at the lowest prices you ever saw . mb r for hose of this quality. BRAND YARN Soft, white, supple yarn made from pure dissolved fibres, spun into very fine threads, by an ex- clusice, stretch-spinning process, giving unusual strength and pli- ability. It has a natural lustre similar to silk and contains fila- ments of the same number and fineness. AMERICAN BEMBERG CORPORATION, 180 MADISON AVENUE. NEW YORK